Rain, Rain, Go Away
by char-tomio
Summary: Chrome Dokuro had always wanted the rain gone. After she learns a lesson on life from the Rain Guardian, she regrets everything.


**Rain, Rain, Go Away**

Chrome Dokuro had always loathed the rain. Those falling, silver raindrops, pattering on her roof without a care in the world. She had always hated how it would mess up her schedule, ruin her hair and catch up with her when she was least expecting it. Plus, the rain was sensitive. When Chrome secretly curses the rain, the rain pours harder. Yes, the rain was a nuisance.

Or so she thought.

* * *

"Ramen tastes best when the rain's pouring heavily." Yamamoto Takeshi smiled, pushing a piping hot bowl of noodles in front of her.

She felt uneasy, just looking at all that food. She wanted to keep her weight down, but she couldn't bear to turn him down. She knew that he was sensitive, too. Sensitive as the rain.

Yamamoto Takeshi was the appointed Rain Guardian. She didn't quite know why, but he had all the qualities of the rain that bothered her. He would most of the time mess up her schedule unintentionally or intentionally at work, ruin her hair by his playfully ruffling it and surprise her a lot. Unlike most women, she hated surprises.

Yamamoto Takeshi was the rain of her life.

She took a pair of chopsticks and slurped up some noodles. "Did you make these?"

The swordsman happily nodded. "Yeah, and they aren't instant noodles. I made them yesterday."

"I can't believe you still have time to do that."

"Eh?"

"Doesn't work bother you, Rain Guardian?"

Yamamoto shook his head. "Not really."

Chrome simply nodded and averted her gaze away. The rain was still falling hard outside. She wouldn't have been here in his apartment if it weren't for the rain, who once again surprised her by it's sudden appearance. Yamamoto had saved her by sharing an umbrella and letting her stay. But even with all of this, his efforts remain unthanked.

"Why does it have to rain..?" the Mist Guardian complained in a barely audible voice.

"Plants need to drink, too." Yamamoto answered from the kitchen.

Chrome shuddered. "He heard that..?"

"Yes. I perfectly heard it." Yamamoto smiled, returning with a mug of warm milk, "I take it that you really don't like the rain all that much, don't you?"

The girl shyly nodded. "It..bothers me."

"Can I ask why?"

Chrome shot an irritated glance to the very incarnation of the rain she loathed so much. "It's..It's a bother, that's all."

"Ahaha, I see!" Yamamoto laughed, "Well, a detour means that you'll have to take a new route. And a new route is something fun."

"I don't think we agree on that, Rain Guardian." Chrome muttered a response, staring at the half-eaten bowl of noodles.

"Haha, sorry to rub in my opinions." Yamamoto smiled, "But I personally think you shouldn't be thinking about how much you hate the rain. Remember, the best things in life are free."

"What do you mean?" the illusionist asked.

"Relax and look at all the free things in life. The weather, friends, silence, rain.. Just keep on doing that and you'll feel better like you never did before." the Rain Guardian smiled, ranting on things you would hear from a feel-good kid's show.

Chrome flashed a skeptical look on her face. "Is that why you're always happy, Rain Guardian?"

"I think so. Life's little things are too awesome to miss out."

Chrome nodded. Gazing at the window, she felt the warm sunbeam making it's way in the room. The rain has stopped.

"I should be going, Rain Guardian." said Chrome, standing up and grabbing her coat. She was halfway out the door when Yamamoto called out to her again.

The Rain Guardian simply smiled. "You.. You can't enjoy the sun without the rain. And stop calling me 'Rain Guardian'. I don't charge anyone for saying my name."

Though she didn't really understand what it meant, she nodded and sped off.

Walking back to her apartment, she decided to follow the Rain Guardian's advice to see if it really worked. She started to walk a little slower, let her eyes dart around the city and listen to her shoes make that pretty sound while stepping under puddles. Looking up, she saw a rainbow painted across the dull grey sky. She stopped awhile and decided to make an unnecessary detour instead of going home immediately. Amazingly, she saw some things she had never seen before, like a lone frog croaking, probably lost. A group of happy children, taking off their raincoats to play soccer. A jolly old man with a bushy red mustache, selling ice cream. Back home, she was greeted by her cats, plus, it was the old landlady's birthday. She had left her sticks of garlic bread and a slice of her favorite chocolate cake. She wasn't really in the mood to eat, so she called up the enigmatic Rain Guardian to help her eat all of them. And thank him.

* * *

Chrome Dokuro kept the dark and sullen expression on her face, amazed how short life was.

_"Remember, the best things in life are free."_

_"Life's little things are too awesome to miss out."_

_"You can't enjoy the sun without the Rain."_

Those words echoed through her mind. Yamamoto Takeshi had taught her how to appreciate the little things in life. She had always been oblivious on how beautiful everything was, including the rain.

She had always wanted the rain gone.

But now, she regretted that decision. She wanted it to rain once more. Just on this little occasion.

Oh, how she longed for the carefree pitter-patter of the rain to calm her nerves. Unknown to her, it was the rain that kept her from wasting her life hurrying. The rain taught her a lesson- to relax. A lesson she never valued, until now.

She wanted to hear his gentle voice break the silence.

She wanted to tell him that he was right. She wanted to thank him.

He was right. The best things in life are free. And those things are most likely to pass by unappreciated.

"Will you please.." Chrome whispered, "..Talk to me again..?"

No response.

"I still.. I-I still have a lot of things to learn.. You were right.. The world's.. The world is such an awesome place."

Silence.

"Tell me the things I need to know."

She kept talking, but the figure under the white cloth remained unmoving. It was just a few hours earlier that he kept ranting on how wonderful life was, and now, he was a mute corpse. He was on his way to her apartment for a helping of some garlic bread and for the 'important thing' Chrome wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.

"Are you still happy, Yamamoto Takeshi?"


End file.
